ETA: Strike starts Sept. 10 unless a contract is negotiated in the meantime. Go read some more of the CTU blog, as well; it’s got lots of good stuff, such as advice that Teach for America teachers can strike along with their comrades.

Wages, hours, and conditions of course. In this case a main issue is that the same number of teachers were being asked to cover an extended school day and larger class sizes. They seem to have made headway on that, but contract details have not been all straightened out yet. Also up for discussion are student services and what some might call elective or non-essential courses and activities — music, art, recess & P.E., libraries, etc. — aspects of education that are seen as essential to wealthy and high-performing schools, but somehow are always negotiable in poor schools. This, my friends, is one of the many way in which the playing field is not level, in which equal opportunity is not available, and in which inequality is perpetuated.

So, let’s see some support for our sisters and brothers in Chicago, trying to maintain fair working conditions in their public school system, so that they can best serve their hundreds of thousands of students.